Contents Contents f o r eword 16
i n t r oduction 20
h o n e d for hunting 30
f r a g m e n ted freedom 46
b y t h e b arrel of a gun 70
s i z e matters 98
t r a n s c e n d i ng boundaries 118
s h a p i ng a future 136
a c k n o w ledgements 152
Ever alert (left): Stellar, the charismatic alpha female of the Venetia Limpopo pack, learnt from painful past experience to remain alert for mortal enemies even when sleeping through the heat of the day in thick mopane bush.
Introduction Introduction
FFifteen years! That’s how long it took me to see my first African
wild dog in the wild after moving to South Africa in 1991. The pack of dogs was lazing in a patch of burnt bushveld by the side of the road just north of Tshokwane in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. When I spotted them I remember cursing myself for only having two shots left on what was my final roll of film but the longer I sat there the more I appreciated the chance to just watch them. This was a rare privilege for most people but especially a wildlife photographer who spends most of his time at such encounters with one eye closed and the other glued to the viewfinder. By the time of that first unforgettable encounter I was already a qualified field guide and spending a lot of my time in the bush building up my portfolio of wildlife photographs. I knew what I was seeing was special but while you would probably expect me to wheel out the old cliché and say that I was hooked on wild dogs from the moment I saw them, it has been more of a case of my respect and fascination growing the more time that I have spent with these beautiful animals.
Primed for hunting (previous spread): Ears like satellite dishes on top of bodies built for endurance...all part of the make up of Africa’s most efficient carnivore. First impressions (above): My first encounter with African wild dogs was in South Africa’s Kruger National Park in 2005. Investing in the future (opposite): Raising pups is a family affair and this pack in Botswana showed the cooperation that allows wild dogs to raise large litters. Land of giants (overleaf): Baobab trees dominate the landscape of northern South Africa’s Limpopo Valley where I spent much of my time following and photographing wild dogs.
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It’s hard to overlook their perfectly honed hunting design. Huge ears sit like satellite dishes atop a body primed not for fight but for flight, making the African wild dog one of the most efficient carnivores on earth. Yet, it was witnessing the absolute cooperation in a pack of dogs raising a litter of thirteen pups on the banks of the Limpopo River in Botswana that made the strongest impression on me, bringing to mind how much effort these charismatic canids invest in survival. When I set out to photograph Underdogs it was that charisma and survival instinct that I wanted to justify. If I could do that successfully then the reader or anyone viewing these pictures might see why the African wild dog is worth fighting for.
Honed for Hunting Africa’s painted wolves
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W When you first set eyes on an African wild dog trotting through
the bush, there is no doubting that what you are looking at is an animal built for hunting. The tricoloured coat pattern blends with the dog’s habitat, giving it excellent camouflage. Long limbs carry the animal at a trot at more than ten kilometres an hour with consummate ease. Huge ears pick up every noise keeping them alert to danger and potential prey. But these are not chance characteristics – every element of the African wild dog’s anatomy has been honed over time to engineer Africa’s most efficient carnivore. The African wild dog may be a member of the Canidae family but as it’s scientific name Lycaon pictus suggests, it stands apart from its African neighbours the black-backed jackal and bateared fox that the species shares a common ancestor with. The African wild dog is the only member of the genus Lycaon, which split from the family tree several million years ago to form a new, unique lineage. The species’ genus name Lycaon is derived from the Greek for ‘wolf’, hinting to this common ancestry and the wild dog’s wolf-like appearance. Although, as a result of this phylogenetic distinction, the African wild dog cannot interbreed with any of its relatives in the Canidae family. It is a sobering thought that if we keep pushing the species towards extinction, we will be aiding the loss of a genetically unique line within the Canidae family formed millions of years ago.
Lycaon pictus (previous spread): The African wild dog’s scientific name is a reference to its wolf-like appearance and ancestry and its tricoloured black, white and tan coat. Painted dogs (this spread): The coat pattern of every African wild dog is unique and allows researchers to identify individuals from when they are pups.
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The wild dog is known by at least three different names in English alone. One of the more common alternatives is the name ‘painted dog’, which is a more literal reference to the species name pictus meaning ‘painted’ in Latin and refers to the eclectic mix of black, white and tan in the wild dog’s coat. As with it’s ungulate neighbours the zebra and giraffe, the coat pattern of every African wild dog is unique to each animal. When the pups are born their coats initially lack the tan element. This colour develops after just a few months but the white patches that the pups are born with remain for life. These allow researchers to identify individual dogs from a young age right the way through life. While coat patterns can be very different from one dog to the next, some general characteristics do typify the species – the long white tip of the tail, dark ears and a jet-black muzzle.
Honed for Hunting
Casual drinkers (this spread): By feeding quickly and possessing long large intestines, wild dogs absorb a lot of vital fluids from their prey. As a result, they can go for long periods without drinking when they need to. When water is plentiful however, they will bathe and play in it with great relish.
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Fragmented Freedom
Although generations of visitors to South Africa’s flagship national park have enjoyed memorable yet fleeting views of these elusive carnivores, recent census figures have shown a steady decline in the Kruger Park’s wild dog numbers. This has lead to calls for a greater understanding of the population there, especially in the northern regions of the park where little is known about the packs living there and where fences have been removed to link Kruger with neighbouring Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park. The timing of new research would also be significant ahead of plans to extend the conservation area into Zimbabwe to include the Gonarezhou National Park. When the metapopulation was established it consisted of wild dog packs in only two locations – the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal and the Madikwe Game Reserve in North West Province – after which it grew to include up to a dozen sites. With such a fragile number of wild dogs spread thinly across the various isolated sub-populations though, the success of any pack or the formation of a new one could never be guaranteed. The implementation of the metapopulation project did succeed in identifying and securing wild dog habitat and in providing a basis for much needed research. Yet, to stabilise the nation’s declining wild dog population and to form new packs on suitable reserves, new dogs needed to be introduced from somewhere. With research indicating that smaller packs stand less chance of successfully reproducing in the wild than larger ones, removing adult wild dogs solely from existing packs and diminishing their chances of survival was not the answer. In 1995, three captive-bred female wild dogs from Ann Van Dyk’s De Wildt Cheetah Centre were released into an enclosure at Madikwe Game Reserve with a group of wild males brought from the Kruger National Park. The pack bonded successfully, defying the belief of many in the conservation fraternity at the time, and were released onto the reserve. This successful and groundbreaking trial laid the foundation for the formation of new packs on protected land to enhance the metapopulation. Since that first successful reintroduction using captive-bred wild dogs, the experiment has been successfully repeated several times on a number of reserves across South Africa.
Something to smile about (this spread): The Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park was one of South Africa’s first metapopulation sites. Since then, the success of the park’s wild dog population has been a comparative anomaly among declining national numbers.
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The darting process (this spread): After hours of waiting, a vet finally gets a clear shot and fires a tranquiliser dart towards his target. Minutes later, the drug has taken affect and the young wild dog can be approached and the dart removed. Translocation (overleaf): A team of vets and researchers move quickly to treat the dart wounds and prepare the young male wild dog for the long journey ahead.
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Following a translocation, a group of wild dogs are usually held in bomas for some time while they are allowed to acclimatise to their new surroundings. If two groups are to be bonded, the behaviour and reaction of the groups towards one another along a fenced partition is usually observed first before the partition is removed. Although it is never ideal to keep a pack contained for long periods, time in the boma allows for bonding and for hierarchies to be established within the group. This in turn helps the pack function as a more organised unit when hunting and surviving out in the wild. The success of the metapopulation project relies heavily on bomas, not just as holding facilities but also as vital research resources. For vets and researchers, the confines of the boma allows for identification photographs to be taken of every animal’s individual markings to aid quick recognition in the field after their release. Darting and immobilising such nervous and energetic creatures is also made easier by the restrictions of the enclosure. Following a darting, vital genetic information can be collected from each dog and added to a national database that serves to sustain the genetic integrity of the population. State veterinary health checks can also be performed before any crossborder movements and, if necessary, radio collars can be fitted so that researchers can keep tabs on the whereabouts of the dogs after they have been released from the boma.
Precious cargo (this spread): Researchers remove a radio collar from a tranquilised young male African wild dog before dousing him with water to keep him cool. He is then loaded into a crate for the 900 kilometre journey to his new home where it is hoped he will establish a new breeding pack.
Tourists often remark at how unsightly a radio collar can be on an animal and wildlife photographers tend to avoid collared animals at almost all costs in the mindset that the animal is somehow less wild. However, these neckpieces are absolutely vital pieces of equipment for researchers working to conserve one of the world’s most endangered carnivores. With a pack of wild dogs roaming a huge territory at a speed in excess of ten kilometres per hour at a mere trot, tracking without the help of these transmitting devices would be futile and the fuel costs and time incurred would be excessive. The introduction of GPS collars has not only further increased tracking efficiency but it has vastly advanced our knowledge about the movement patterns of African wild dogs. The collars
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relay GPS coordinates of the whereabouts of the animal via the cellular phone network. The results gathered from GPS collars fitted to wild dogs from KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park has staggered researchers, showing groups dispersing hundreds of kilometres to find new territories and to form new packs. This invaluable information has helped South Africa’s Wild Dog Advisory Group and the Endangered Wildlife Trust take the metapopulation process forward. The management-intensive metapopulation project was never meant to serve as a long-term, definitive solution to stemming the collapse of African wild dog numbers in South Africa and rebuilding the population. Its aim of identifying new, suitable habitat for wild dogs on safe and appropriately-sized reserves is being met. What the feedback received from GPS collars can highlight is the exact areas outside of protected reserves that wild dogs are dispersing into. This information can help researchers liaise with landowners and communities in the regions next to
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By the Barrel of a Gun life and death in the African bush
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Nothing wasted (previous spread): African wild dogs are voracious feeders. This adult wild dog won’t waste a morsal and will then help to feed pups and other adults back at the den by regurgitating food. Paintings from the past (above): Archaeologist Tim Forssman interprets one of the Limpopo Valley’s many Bushman rock art sites painted during man’s respectful existence alongside Africa’s wildlife.
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Wild dogs, Jackals or Mongooses? (opposite): This row of animals on a fantastically rich rock art panel on the Machete farm in the Limpopo Valley has been interpreted by some archaeologists as a pack of African wild dogs. A handful of detailed Bushman paintings like this one show the mythological signifiance of the wild dog to the traditional Bushmen of Southern Africa.
By The Barrel Of A Gun
AAcross the continent of Africa, the existence of the African wild
dog as a species is inextricably linked to an invention that has shaped the modern world – the gun. Nowadays, researchers rely on its dart-projecting ability to immobilise animals for fitting radio collars and for translocation but it hasn’t always been this way. Wild dogs have fared badly since big game hunters arrived in Africa in their droves from the end of the 1800’s. It was the hunting technique of these super efficient carnivores that led many influential hunters and early game wardens to label them as cruel and murderous and to call for the wild dog’s widespread extermination. The sentiments of British big game hunter R.C.F. Maughan that the species was an ‘abomination’ and a ‘blot upon the many interesting wild things’ sum up the feelings of the time. And so the arrival of the colonial superpowers in Africa marked the beginning of the end of man’s respectful existence in nature alongside Africa’s wild creatures. Before the aggressive European colonisation of land inhabited by Bushman hunter-gatherer communities, during a time when the African air was filled with the sounds of traditional singing instead of the crack of gunfire, the African wild dog was revered for its flawless hunting abilities, the very quality that drew scorn from Africa’s brash new settlers. Sadly, there are few traditional Bushman communities remaining, although their descendants and their wonderfully detailed rock art allow us to understand a relationship between man and beast all but lost with the arrival of the great white hunter. Various parts of an African wild dog’s body are believed to have spiritual, medicinal and physical importance in some traditional African communities. Perhaps most notably, Bushmen across Southern Africa are known to have eaten the heart of the wild dog in a bid to become more adept hunters with the courage, cooperation and swiftness of the animal. Other specific uses are less clear however, such as the use of wild dog bones by Bushmen as tobacco pipes. Of course, nowadays it is difficult to understand how these uses infer any form of respect when they necessitate the killing of a wild dog. Yet, following a kill, almost every body part of a wild dog would be utilised in some useful way in stark contrast to the way carcasses were left by
colonial hunters to rot in the African sun after falling under a hail of bullets. The traditional usage of wild dog body parts still occurs in parts of Southern Africa today but, thankfully, of the dozens of recorded traditional uses of these parts, not all are consumptive and require the killing of an animal. In areas of Zimbabwe, for example, wild dog faeces is collected for it is believed to cure those suffering from dizziness and it is used to treat tetanus. The importance of the wild dog to traditional communities goes far beyond physical practices. The interpretation of Bushman rock art across Southern Africa allows us to understand the mythological and religious beliefs Bushmen associated with the species. Because Bushmen are believed to have only painted those animals that had symbolic relevance, the appearance of wild dogs in rock art panels across Southern Africa hints to their important role in Bushman mythology. Irregularities in body size and proportions, as well as the physical affects of hundreds
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Worthy adversaries (this spread): Large packs of wild dogs have been known to hunt zebra in East Africa but the kick of this equine demands respect. Similarly, the tusks of the plucky warthog have brought about the end of many wild dogs during frenzied hunts, including the elevenyear-old alpha male of the Venetia Limpopo pack in 2006.
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hills known locally as ‘koppies’ and in a habit christened by the researchers as ‘koppie hopping’ the dogs were recorded making regular, systematic use of these hills to rest and to even den in between hunting on the plains below. Each day, the small pack would rise early from its resting spot and set out on its quest for food. Being crepuscular, wild dogs prefer to be active in the twilight hours – the perfect time to avoid both their larger nocturnal neighbours and the heat of the African sun. Eventually, even if hunting had been unsuccessful, the pack would make its way to high ground to rest in relative comfort and safety. This habit of systematically taking to the hills is not necessarily typical wild dog behaviour but it was a habit ingrained in the psyche of alpha female Stellar through a mix of desperation and resourcefulness. Stellar’s behaviour was hardly surprising when taking into account her own life story and the changes that occurred in the Venetia Limpopo wild dog population after her arrival at the helm – most of which were by the tooth and claw of her larger feline foes. Stellar was translocated to Venetia Limpopo from Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa’s North West Province after her alpha mate and entire litter of pups were killed there. In the months that followed, researchers at Madikwe watched Stellar roam the reserve’s Dwarsberg Mountains alone. Did her desperate existence in Madikwe’s hills influence her behaviour as the leader of the pack on Venetia Limpopo? The Venetia Limpopo pack had become a band of survivors. Along with Stellar, its few remaining members had all seen those closest to them meet a grim end in a struggle with another large carnivore. Avoiding lions had become a priority for all of them and heading to the hills seemed the only option.
Committed to conserve (right): EWT researcher John Power searches for a signal from a radio collar from the top of Edmondsburg, the highest point on Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. Keeping up with a nervous Stellar and her diminished pack meant going where no 4x4 could go. Size matters (following spread): Being much larger and relying on stealth, lions are a constant threat to wild dogs. Around a quarter of all wild dog deaths in the wild can be attributed to lions.
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Transcending Boundaries wild dogs in a modern landscape
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Ultimately, the Limpopo and Kruger National Parks will link with Gonarezhou, Zimbabwe’s second largest National Park, via the Sengwe Corridor. Unfortunately, Gonarezhou National Park is one of the country’s conservation areas that continue to feel the destructive affects of poaching. It is believed that it is the park’s sheer size that has saved the majority of its wildlife from destruction however, as poaching tends to be concentrated around the outer reaches of such vast parks. The small amount of data that exists on Gonarezhou’s wild dog population supports this and suggests that a healthy number of individuals exist in several packs in spite of the threats from poaching. As well as the park’s size, another factor likely to contribute to the success of the wild dog population here is the low number of lions.
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Early genetic studies of those wild dogs living in Gonarezhou and the rest of Zimbabwe’s eastern lowlands seem to show that the population is not genetically connected to those further south in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. It is encouraging that despite the long-term pressures placed on Zimbabwe’s wildlife, one of the country’s great wildernesses could be a major piece in the jigsaw that cements a truly viable future for the African wild dog. With conservation areas like the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park spreading across borders into new territories, poaching is not the only threat to wildlife that conservation authorities will have to consider. Domestic dogs are commonly kept as pets,
Community relations (opposite): EWT community liaison officer Sithembiso Ndlovu discusses wild dog activity with the wife of an induna, a community leader in Zululand. With hopes for safe wild dog dispersal routes between reserves and the expansion of conservation areas, a mutual support and understanding between conservation bodies and local communities is essential. A poacher’s haul (above and right): The rhino horn and ivory trades hit the international headlines for good reason but neither create superfluous victims in the same way as bushmeat snaring — a very real threat to wild dogs.
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are likely to form the basis for wild dog management plans elsewhere on the African continent in years to come. However, community engagement is just one part of a formula necessary for halting the decline in wild dog numbers. Collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between researchers in other parts of the wild dog’s range, rather than each working in isolation, can only help to promote a greater understanding of the possibilities and obstacles to developing both local and wider populations. In early 2011, collaboration between researchers based more than 450 kilometres apart in neighbouring countries brought to light the distances that wild dogs are dispersing to find mates and form new packs. When two new male wild dogs arrived in the Tuli Block in Botswana, Craig Jackson of the Northern Tuli Predator Project circulated pictures in the hope that fellow researchers in the region would be able to identify the dogs from coat patterns. Perhaps expecting a response from northern South Africa or further to the west in Botswana, Craig was amazed to hear from Dr Rosemary Groom in the Save Valley Conservancy
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in eastern Zimbabwe. The two males had run one of the biggest dispersals ever recorded and this information, made possible through networking and sharing information, has helped to paint a clearer picture of the genetic make up of the Tuli wild dog population and how wild dogs are traversing natural and manmade boundaries to ensure the survival of their species. Significant research is being carried out in northern Botswana that could make life safer for dispersing wild dogs and for those dogs living in areas beyond the fenced boundaries of protected reserves. The results of the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust’s (BPCT) BioBoundary Project could help to alleviate the threats of disease, persecution and road deaths to wild dogs by keeping them off farm and community land. This research, that is being carried out by Dr Peter Apps and Dr Lesego Mmualefe Chemical analysis (above): A wild dog sniffs scent left by another dog. A project in Botswana is working to identify the very chemical components in wild dog urine and faeces that act as territorial signs to other dogs. The project aims to reproduce those chemicals to create synthetic scent boundaries and keep wild dogs from venturing onto land where they could be at risk.
under the guidance of BPCT founder Dr J.W. ‘Tico’ McNutt, aims to identify the precise chemical components present in wild dog urine and faeces that act as territorial markers to other dogs. The goal of the Bioboundary Project field work being done in study areas in eastern and northern Botswana, as well as the chemical analysis work in a laboratory in the town of Maun, is to be able to reproduce those chemicals and create artificial, flexible scent boundaries. Acting like road signs to dispersing wild dogs by guiding a safe passage between populations, this synthetic scent marking process represents a manageable and flexible solution to many of the issues influencing African wild dog conservation at a time when the species needs a solution, and fast. The BioBoundary Project’s objectives complement community engagement efforts perfectly in that flexible, synthetic territory boundaries can keep wild dogs away from land where livestock is kept. Yet, that is only part of the solution to managing wild dogs beyond the boundaries of protected reserves. As the land available to wild dogs is increased and dispersal corridors that link conservation areas are opened up, so the populations of prey species like kudu and impala on protected land must be monitored. Predator researchers are increasingly interested in what is known as the ‘carrying capacity’ of the land where their study animals live. Both the quality and the type of vegetation available to herbivorous prey species determine in turn how many predators can be sustained there. The problem for those people concerned with wild dog conservation is that herbivores like elephant, rhino and buffalo that consume vast amounts of vegetation and are not on the wild dog’s menu generate income through tourism. Conservationists will have to become salesmen of the wild dog brand if they are to convince reserve managers of the value of wild dogs and to provide for them. Otherwise, the communities living along dispersal routes that are so crucial to the linking of wild dog populations may find their livestock on the wild dog’s menu. Balancing biomass (right and overleaf): As safe dispersal routes for wild dogs are opened up to link populations, it will be important to monitor and provide habitat for prey species like impala and kudu to ensure wild dogs don’t target livestock. This may mean convincing some landowners to provide for smaller game species over the larger elephants, rhino and buffalo that generate income from tourism.
Acknowledgements Acknowledgements
Finding and photographing such a wide-roaming endangered species at various locations across South Africa and Botswana required careful planning. This project simply wouldn’t have got off the ground without the vast knowledge and help of Harriet Davies-Mostert of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Chairperson of the Wild Dog Advisory Group in South Africa, and I am eternally grateful. Whenever I was following African wild dogs through the bush, be it on foot or in a Land Rover, the best motto always seemed to be to expect the unexpected. One never quite knew what these highly energetic and unpredictable animals were going to do next. The opportunities for photography that did materialise were largely due to the field skills and intimate understanding of wild dog behaviour of John Power, Brendan WhittingtonJones and Wendy Collinson of EWT, and of Craig Jackson of the Northern Tuli Predator Project. Above and beyond helping me in my quest, professionalism and a commitment to the research and wellbeing of their canid subjects flowed through each of these dedicated individuals. My thanks also to Sithembiso Ndlovu for affording me the opportunity to witness the work being done by EWT to educate communities in rural areas about the African wild dog and its importance. Community engagement work is vital to the fight to find a place for endangered species in a modern world but it is all too often undercelebrated. Various other experts have been instrumental in helping me to piece together the story of the wild dog’s past and understand the wider landscape of wild dog conservation. These include Dr Rosemary Groom of the Lowveld Wild Dog Project in eastern Zimbabwe and Kath Potgieter of EWT in South Africa. Also, painting a picture of man’s historical relationship with the wild
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dog in Southern Africa would not have been possible without the input of archaeologist Tim Forssman of Oxford University. Beyond my thanks to him for showing his belief in the project by penning the foreword, I also extend my gratitude to Professor Peter Neville for his great friendship and support. A sincere word of thanks to Warwick Davies-Mostert at the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve for his welcoming hospitality. My appreciation also to staff at Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve and at KZN Wildlife’s Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park and Mkhuze Game Reserve. I wouldn’t be doing the work I love if it wasn’t for the unending belief of my family and the inspiration of friends, for which I feel very lucky. Finally, to share time and space with various wild dog packs, watch their intimate moments and follow them hunting was a true and rare privilege. These are moments that I hope every person who reads this will one day enjoy. Thanks to the help and work of Justine, Peter and Barbara at NatureBureau, I have been able to make Underdogs a reality and ensure that every person who buys this book will be helping to secure a future for the African wild dog.